Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter


"Albus? Albus, my good man, are you there?" a vaguely familiar voice called from the fireplace. "Albus!?"

Albus rarely received firecalls without prior warning, and never on the 1st of September. His curiosity piqued, the headmaster stood from his desk, marking his place in his book, and walked over to the nook the fireplace was in.

In the flames, he saw none other than the Potioneer Zeus Derby. "Zeus? Whatever do you need, my dear fellow?"

"Ah, Headmaster! Would you be so kind as to let me step through? I would like to speak to you about one of your students."

"One of my students…?" Albus murmured with a furrowed brow before he said, "Yes, yes, of course. Do come through."

Zeus's head disappeared momentarily before the flames whooshed green and he walked out of the massive fireplace. He shook the soot out of his brilliant white hair; it was whiter even than the headmaster's despite him being several decades younger. Albus recalled that the Hufflepuff Alumni had come to Hogwarts with his hair that way.

"Albus, it's always good to see you!" He stuck out a hand, which Albus accepted and gave a warm shake.

"Likewise," the headmaster said, smiling kindly. "Please, come this way, come sit. Would you like a cup of tea? Coffee? Pumpkin Juice? Perhaps something stronger?"

Zeus shook his head as he took a seat in a plush purple armchair, "I appreciate it, but no, thank you, Albus. I was wanting to talk to you about one Severus Snape. I sent him an offer to apprentice with the company – specifically with me – nearly a month ago but I have yet to receive a reply! He isn't already apprenticed to someone else, is he?"

Albus sat there in silence for a moment, stunned. Students were hardly ever apprenticed while still receiving their formal education as apprenticeships generally required the student to move in with the master. But if Zeus were serious about this – utterly serious….

"I am unaware of Mr. Snape holding an apprenticeship with anyone what with it being so unusual and all – you sent the letter a month ago, correct?" Zeus nodded the affirmative, making Albus frown slightly. "It is rather unlike Mr. Snape to take that long to do anything. Perhaps the letter did not make it to him?"

The former Hufflepuff shrugged, "It is a possibility, but the company owl I always use, Cecile, has yet to fail in delivering anything."

"I see…" the headmaster trailed off, puzzling over what Zeus had told him. "Shall I call him up to speak with you? The train will arrive shortly."

"Oh, I would very much like that, if it's no trouble," Zeus said, grinning broadly. "I must admit that I have wanted to meet young Severus since I saw what he scored on his Potions O.W.L. – I thought it impossible to make a perfect score! Horace must've had heart palpitations when he saw Severus's results," the former Hufflepuff chuckled, shaking his head at the fond memories he had of Hogwarts' Potion Master.

"I believe I recall Horace was all a dither over it," Albus said with a chuckle of his own, his eyes brightly twinkling.

Here! He rejoiced, Here is an opportunity!

Under the tutelage of Zeus, young Severus would undoubtedly blossom as he should have during his years as a student at Hogwarts. The headmaster would do everything possible, absolutely anything, for his student to be able take this opportunity. Hopefully, Tom had yet to sink his hooks into the Slytherin, but if he had… well, with a bit of luck, Zeus should be able to disabuse young Severus of the notion that joining the Dark was his best option. He'd also be safe in Italy once he graduated – Albus rather doubted Severus would finish the apprenticeship before he graduated.

If Albus did nothing else, he would save this student he had so wronged. That he vowed.

The headmaster turned to his phoenix, a swan-sized bird that vaguely resembled a Hoatzin with crimson feathers and a golden tail as long as a peacock's, and said happily, "Fawkes, would you please bring a message to Mr. Snape? Tell him that his presence is required in my office at his earliest convenience – preferably before the Great Feast. Thank you, my old friend."

Fawkes's black eyes studied the headmaster intensely before a crooning noise escaped his golden beak and disappeared in a flash of flames.

{Furius Draconis}

Lily was stalking up and down the train (steering well clear of the Slytherins' car) despite it being past her assigned patrol time.

She was annoyed with herself – namely her lack of courage. Seeing Snape in the Prefects car today was a chilling reminder of that day on Spinner's End. She had been haunted by flashes of heartless black eyes and thinly veiled threats delivered in icy whispers ever since.

She'd even woken up once or twice, gasping and clawing at her hammering heart, utterly drenched in sweat. The suspicious glances she got from her parents during the day did nothing to help her frazzled nerves.

They had given her the third degree as soon as she stumbled through the front door on that day and she knew they had been far from satisfied with her vague answers, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She'd been dancing around the subject of the looming war for a year now, knowing that if they had any idea how bad things were getting, they'd pull her from Hogwarts so fast her head would spin.

In the following weeks, she had tried to write someone – anyone – about what she had witnessed, but she ended up burning all of them for fear of what Snape might do to her. He hadn't actually threatened her, but she was smart enough to read between the lines of his parting words – "Say one word of this to anyone, and you'll sorely regret it…" – and she didn't want to bring his wrath down upon her head.

Because hell hath no fury like Snape roused to vengeance, she thought rather hollowly.

Lily couldn't get the image of him towering over her menacingly out of her mind, no matter how hard she tried, her mind would always drift back to him. To the way his wand appeared effortlessly in his hand, his magic flaring in anticipation and appearing to be the color of ripe blackberries to her Videns Magia eyes. Even in his father's cast offs, Snape could cut an imposing figure when he wanted to.

Her dreams – nightmares, really, but damn it her pride was already stinging enough from her inability to send a sodding letter – that had caused her to wake in the middle of the night had all featured that day. But Snape would be dressed in imposing black robes that had a slight iridescent sheen, rather like the scales of a Hebridean Black Dragon.

His magic would roar around him and throughout his body, a dark purple raging inferno eager to be used to inflict pain. He'd have an ugly sneer on his face and his eyes would be cutting – unforgiving. His wand would be emitting flaming sparks as he advanced on her. Lily was always rooted to the spot, unable to run, to plead, to scream….

She gave her head an annoyed little shake, folding her arms across her chest protectively. Severus wouldn't hurt me. He wouldn't.

But she wasn't so sure of that anymore.

Lily was forced to push those thoughts from her mind as she stumbled slightly and her vision began to blur. She let out a frustrated huff. The potion she had in her eyes to keep her from being utterly overwhelmed by the magic all around her was wearing off.

"Bugger and damn the stars," she muttered, quickly making her way back to her compartment with a steadying hand on the wall to her right. At this rate, what little she had left of the Veiling Drops would be used up before she even got to Hogwarts!

Four compartments down she could hardly make out the features of the people she passed, meaning she had seconds at most before the Veiling Drops wore off. Bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger – should've used extra, Evans, you know the Drops lose potency the older the batch is! Idiot.

She made it to the door of her compartment just as her vision exploded – Merlin, everything was so bright – and she was ruthlessly bombarded by the sheer amount of magic around her. Lily crumbled to the floor, slapping both hands over her eyes with a cry of pain. She hadn't experienced this level of exposure since her first year at Hogwarts.

Someone was talking to her, or near her, she couldn't tell. It was like she had a pound of cotton in each ear. She was definitely going Muggle if she couldn't figure out how to brew the Veiling Drops herself. Yes, running away and living as a Muggle sounded extraordinarily magnificent right then.

A hand came down on her shoulder – a hand filled with magic – giving her flaming pins and needles across her body. A yelp escaped her and she tried to twist away but it made it worse. "Lily –oh for Merlin's sake– Lily! Here!" A voice broke through, the voice of her dear friend Pandora Wulfhart to be precise. She let one of her hands be torn away from her eyes and very nearly cried in relief as a familiar vial was shoved into it.

"Bless-you-bless-you-bless-you," Lily breathed out, straightening out enough to get five drops in each eye before hunching over again with a small whimper, digging the heels of her hands into her eyes.

Hands (Pandora, she thought distantly) took the vial from her and guided her into the compartment, careful to keep a light touch this time, "Budge up!" Pandora snapped at someone (probably Mary Macdonald) so Lily could lie down on one of the seats. Lily heard (most likely) Mary scramble out of the way and then she was on one of the squashy seats, face down.

It wasn't helping.

One hand clasped tightly over her eyes, she waved her other hand at the people in the compartment and gasped, "Get – get the cloth. Heavy black thing. Get it – Morgana's flaming tits – get it."

She heard more scrambling as the other three girls all jumped up to get her bag and after one of them summoned it ("Accio Lily's cloth!") it was shoved into her hand. She hastily tied it around her head and sighed in relief; the glare of everyone's magic had dimmed considerably, but she could still sense everything even remotely magic near her. She could deal with that though, it wasn't so bad.

Annoying, yes. Uncomfortable, yes. But not unbearable.

The cloth she had just tied around her head was a blindfold of sorts that Severus had made for her, specifically for instances like this. It was seven layers thick, and he had woven the one spell that could ease a Videns Magia's condition into the fabric of each layer. Alone, the spell didn't do much to help her (Madam Pomfrey had told her she was the strongest Videns Magia to ever grace her Hospital Wing), hence the layers.

An average Videns Magia only had to cast the spell on themselves once (sodding once!) and they could parade around in Diagon Alley all day without any trouble – Lily had no such luck. I must've been doused in some sort of bad luck concoction right after I was born. The opposite of Felix Felicis – Malediction Meade, or something like that.

She only had half a pound of cotton in each ear now; her skin tingled like she was covered in hundreds of bees, but she didn't care. She wasn't in pain anymore.

"Have I ever told you three," she said, mumbling slightly since her face was squished into the seat, "how absolutely bloody wonderful you are?"

"A time or two," Alice Storgarth, the third girl in the compartment, said with a relieved laugh.

"Could stand to hear it a little more often, Evans," Mary said, her voice light with mirth, Lily could practically see her flipping her hair over her shoulder. "It's not every day mere students like us get the chance to save the great and almighty Lily Calvin-oomph!" she was cut off by a cushion being thrown at her stomach.

"Stuff it, o wonderful friend of mine," Lily said, fighting a grin. "And take this opportunity to bask in my 'almighty' presence."

Mary spluttered at that, but soon joined the other girls in laughing.

When they calmed down, Pandora asked, "What happened, Lily?"

"Oh, y'know, my potion wore off and I swear to Godric's left foot we all have a collapsed sun right about here," Lily pointed to a few inches below her sternum. She then groused, "Even the sodding train is magical."

Her three friends ignored the last comment, having heard it just about every time they rode the Express. "Why didn't you stock up? You've never run out like this before," Alice pointed out.

Lily visibly stilled, images of burning black eyes and raging dark purple magic flashed in her mind. Her friends didn't know that it was Snape who kept her supplied with Veiling Drops – or at least, she assumed it was him. After their falling out in Fifth Year vials of Veiling Drops would just… appear in her bag whenever she was beginning to run out. And since they were an invention of his, she sincerely doubted anyone else was brewing it. He had always been tight lipped about any creations of his, even with her.

"Lily?" Pandora asked when it became evident that she wasn't going to answer without further prompting.

"Uh… various reasons?" she offered weakly, knowing full well they'd end up dragging the real answer out of her before too long.

"And you're going to tell us each and every one of those reasons, aren't you?" Mary said sweetly, making Lily groan.

She laid there, thinking for a moment before asking, "Can we talk about this after I've been to see Madam Pomfrey?"

"No-"

"Of course we can, Lily," Pandora said, interrupting Mary. "I'm sure none of us can imagine what you're going through right now. Any questions we have can wait, can't they, Mary?"

There was a short stretch of silence before Mary conceded, "Only if we get the full story."

Lily smiled, but it was strained (harsh black eyes – roaring dark purple magic), "Of course."

{Furius Draconis}

At the front of the train, the Marauders were finally all reunited after a long summer.

After the other three finished properly heckling James for making Head Boy (any owl delivered pranks did not count) they settled down – well, as much as they could settle down – and patiently awaited Remus to begin one of their traditions that had evolved from a prank.

He and Peter had wanted to test Muggle pranks out on their entirely wizard raised friends and the two had been so enamored by it they demanded a repeat for the following year. Remus and Peter had been only too happy to comply.

"As you two know, we started this glorious tradition in this very compartment in the auspicious year of one thousand nine hundred and seventy four with the Chinese finger trap mechanisms," Remus said pompously, grinning all the while.

"I still say magic was involved in those things," James said, remembering how he and Sirius had been stuck together for the entire Start-of-Term Feast. And then how Madam Pomfrey, of all people, had trouble getting it off of them.

"Oh tosh," Remus laughed. "They're one hundred percent pure Muggle ingeniousness."

The two boys across from them rolled their eyes. Peter then spoke up, "And then we moved on to the snake in the can of salted peanuts."

"Scared the shit out of me, that did," Sirius remembered, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish grin.

"I shall always cherish their shrieks, won't you Peter?"

"Forever and ever, Remus, forever and ever," the smallest of the four of them stated with mock gravitas.

They both received a conjured cushion to the face ("We do not shriek!") but Remus continued, undaunted, "Now, we can't forget about the Saran wrap on the door, or the wondrous way both James and Sirius ran into it – by the way, good thinking putting them at different heights Pete, I would've just put up another one after one of them ran into it. It really is too bad that we didn't pictures of all of this," Remus lamented.

"Oh, I got pictures," Peter chortled, his eyes twinkling gleefully. "Lily and Mary really enjoyed their Christmas presents last year. I should show you the gushing letters I got back."

Before their cackling mousy friend could be attacked by the two glaring Purebloods across from them, Remus said hurriedly, "And now that brings us to this year's prank!" He clapped his hands together and exclaimed, "But first! Drinks! Peter, if you would do the honors?"

"Why of course, Moony mine," out of his coat pockets he pulled four aluminum cans of Sprite, and he handed one to each of the boys sitting in the compartment, their earlier annoyance forgotten.

"What… is this?" James asked, turning his can every which-a-way.

"A drink Prongs! Don't tell me you've never had one from a can before," Remus said, knowing full well that neither of the boys across from him had. Next to him, Peter opened his and took a swig but before the other two could try to copy him, Remus stopped them, "Wait a minute! You've got to shake them first, it's how you activate the flavor."

Peter very nearly choked on what he had in his mouth, trying not to laugh, realizing why Remus asked him to bring the cans of soda. Instead, he nodded sagely and said, "That's right, I just happen to not like this flavor very much. Once you open it, though, you can't activate the flavor – haven't a clue why really. So you better shake them if you want the full experience."

The two unsuspecting Purebloods across from them merely nodded. It made sense to them. So they shook up their cans as hard as they could, figuring a light shake wouldn't get the job done. They failed to realize that Remus hadn't shaken his either. Together they copied Peter's movements from earlier and opened their cans, only to have the liquid within explode in their faces.

The two Half-Bloods erupted in laughter at the sight of the bewildered looks on their two best friends. "Did… did we do it wrong Padfoot?" James asked.

"I don't think so, Prongs," Sirius said back.

This only caused the other two boys to laugh even harder.

{Furius Draconis}

"Save me a seat?" Severus asked as he helped Narcissa out of the horseless carriage. He linked her arm through his, knowing that she'd do it on her own anyways. Lately, she seemed incapable of walking anywhere with him unless she was attached to his arm, which was ridiculous since he knew hanging onto his arm had no impact on her ability to walk whatsoever. But it appeared to make her happy so he saw no reason to question it.

"Of course dear, you needn't have asked," she said with a small smile – Severus was such a gentleman. If one could get past his caustic demeanor and his status of a Half-Blood then they would find themselves with the perfect husband.

Narcissa blinked slowly, the only outward appearance of her shock at thinking such a statement.

Severus? A perfect husband? Being of a superior blood status as well as his best friend she hadn't thought of him in that light before, but it was almost too easy to see it now. Whoever managed to catch his stern eye would be lucky indeed – she was almost jealous of them. Almost.

I will have to approve of them first, of course. I'd be a poor friend if I sat back and let just anybody waltz up. No, he will have the best, and I'll make sure of it.

'The best' being someone of good stock, and a considerable level of intelligence – Severus didn't suffer fools easily. Those two criteria points threw out nearly everyone in the school. And the fact that none of them were even close to being worthy of her dear friend ruled out the rest of their classmates.

Perhaps someone abroad then?

She threw out that idea almost as soon as it came to her. She doubted that anyone anywhere would measure up to the standards she had for any spouse of Severus. That meant she would have to do some meddling to mold whoever he fancied into the perfect spouse.

In other words, she had her work cut out for her, but she didn't mind. Severus deserved the best, and she would deliver it.

He'd do the same for me, she thought, tightening her hold on his arm just a fraction in appreciation. That being said, there's no telling what he'd do if he found out what Lucius is like.…

She shuddered slightly at the thought. Severus was ferociously protective of women, she suspected it had something to do with the environment he was raised in, but–

"Are you cold?" his voice broke through her thoughts.

Narcissa looked up and found him gazing down at her in concern, causing her heart to flutter in the most pleasant way. "No, I'm quite warm, thank you darling."

His dark eyes raked over her, seeming to assess the validity of her statement before he gave a sharp nod and looked ahead.

In lieu of returning to her mildly distressing thoughts, she asked, "Do you know how long this meeting of yours will last?"

"Not a clue," he replied, his voice rumbling in displeasure. He had been expecting to be called up to the Headmaster's office at some point this year, but he hadn't thought it would be so soon. Term hadn't officially started yet and he was already receiving garish summons via Phoenix.

The bird had left a single golden tail feather before disappearing in a flash of flames. As soon as Severus picked the feather up, the message from the Headmaster appeared etched in flames on the feather, and once he finished reading it, the feather itself combusted, leaving no trace of the message or the feather.

Narcissa tutted at that but said nothing more on the matter. They made their way towards the striking castle in which they had spent the majority of the past six years.

It was a breathtaking sight, despite how familiar they were with it. The numerous towers of all shapes and sizes all shone like a beacon in the night. Nearly every window emitted the soft glow of a candle to welcome the students home.

The mountains that created the glen they were ensconced in made for a magnificent backdrop, especially since it was a cloudless night so soon after a full moon. The Forbidden Forest loomed to their right, towering and imperious, sprawling as far as the eye could see, and utterly alive.

From their current position, they were unable to see the Black Lake, but knew that the vast body of water would soon be within their sight, glittering and calm as always.

Before long, they were within the castle, the Entrance Hall a familiar sight with its high ceiling and brilliant torches hanging from the stone walls, illuminating the various portraits that proudly hung there.

Narcissa fully expected to part ways with Severus there, but instead he continued on with her into the Great Hall, escorting her over to the Slytherin Table. There were few students in the Great Hall, and nearly all of the Professors – they still had plenty of time before the First Years made it across the Lake.

He made sure she was seated comfortably before he swept from the Hall, weaving between the small clumps of chatting teens. For lack of anything better to do, Narcissa watched his retreating figure, idly noting that his new robes fit him extraordinarily well.

He cut an impressive figure in them, even though they were just the drab black robes they were forced to wear any time they left their Common Rooms. Black suited him better than anyone she knew.

Regalyan appeared by her side, headbutting her hand in a plea for affection. She was more than happy to comply, having not seen him since they left Hogsmeade Station. He and Cassandra had gone streaking off into the night as soon as they had disembarked from the train, making more than one person scream in fright as the massive felines hurtled by, knocking over at least one First Year.

They, apparently, did not approve of trains.

He was purring as thunderously as his sister had on Platform 9¾ as Narcissa stroked the length of his body. This caused more than a few Slytherins to look at her familiar in alarm, having never heard a cat make such a loud noise. Their incredulity only increased when they took note of Regalyan's massive size.

"Narcissa…" said Bashemath Malbuz, the only other female Seventh Year Slytherin besides Narcissa herself. "That is not a Kneazle."

Narcissa scoffed. "I should hope not. Kneazles are rather ugly creatures, are they not?"

"Yes," Malbuz said, nodding slowly, obviously waiting for Narcissa to elaborate on what species Regalyan was. Narcissa knew this and had no intention of doing so, seeing it for the subtle power play that it was. She was Narcissa Carina Vivienne Black, of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, fiancée of Lord Malfoy, she bowed to no student, especially not Malbuz.

Just as she thought the other girl wouldn't speak up, Malbuz asked, her voice sharp with annoyance at another one of her ploys to 'one-up' her dorm mate failing. "What is it, then?"

Narcissa smiled despite herself. "Regalyan is a Jevabaownn, a superior relative to the common Kneazle. I am surprised someone of your… caliber… has not heard of it before." Malbuz sniffed and then turned away from Narcissa, taking the insult in silence. Malbuz would bother her no more tonight.

Narcissa allowed herself a small smirk before returning all of her attentions to her feline, who had been purring loudly all the while.

Jevabaownns were indeed superior to the Kneazle, even though they were just as intelligent as their English cousins and had the same uncanny ability to identify suspicious and distrustful people. However, when it came to size and aggressiveness, the two breeds began to differ.

Their breeders had worked exceptionally hard over the years to get them to be larger but less aggressive. Narcissa had been astonished at how docile the animals actually were, considering the rumors surrounding the breed.

It was said, only in the lowest of whispers, that the breeders had managed to splice the felines with some of the characteristics of an Antipodean Opaleye Dragon. It was obvious that they had succeeded in this highly illegal activity – both Regalyan and Cassandra had the eyes of the Antipodean Opaleye: multicolored and without pupils.

They also had a smattering of small pearly scales on their lower legs, which would multiply and harden as the Jevabaownns matured. She supposed that their larger size could also come from this splicing, but she knew for a fact that they wouldn't reach the monstrous 40 feet of an adult Antipodean Opaleye.

The breeder who had sold her the two had assured her in a vague, roundabout way that the eyes and scales would be the only dragon-like traits that would manifest – he couldn't outright say it because that was as good as a confession, something the Aurors had been trying to get for years. The splicing of magical creatures had been outlawed hundreds of years ago, supposedly when an experiment got out of hand and resulted in the creation of the Quintaped, a man-eating, five-legged creature that lived on the unplottable Isle of Drear.

A rather wise move, Narcissa thought, considering what a terror those monsters were. But Jevabaownn breeders had been careful when creating the felines, ensuring that there were no accidents, especially none as large as the Quintaped had been.

{Furius Draconis}

Several minutes after he left Narcissa at the Slytherin table, Severus was making his way up the Marble Staircase Tower, searching for the Gargoyle Corridor one floor at a time.

Hardly anything in Hogwarts stayed in the same place from year to year, but thankfully if one knew the castle well enough (like Severus did) it was easy to figure out where things had gone. For instance, the Headmaster's office was always at the end of the Gargoyle Corridor, no matter which floor it decided to be on that year.

He was about to quit the third floor and begin searching the fourth floor when a cacophony of noise exploded behind him, coming from the hallway he had just left. Several voices were shouting in outrage and the telltale cackle of the castle's resident poltergeist told him that Peeves had just pulled some sort of mischief.

Sighing to himself, Severus turned back to deal with whatever havoc had befallen the hallway and its occupants.

Unlike the rest of the ghosts that inhabited Hogwarts, Peeves wasn't pearly white and transparent. He was a solid-looking little man with wickedly slanted orange eyes, and black hair that was always stuffed under a bell-covered hat. He also always wore outlandish clothes, seeming to be in some sort of contest with the Headmaster for the title 'Owner of the Worst Wardrobe'.

As Severus rounded the corner, his instincts screamed at him to duck and he all but threw himself to the floor. A hot pink balloon sailed through the air where his head had just been, and landed with a splat against the floor a few paces behind him.

Standing up, Severus looked with narrowed eyes at the mess behind him (it was undoubtedly Bubotuber pus) and then up at unruly poltergeist floating near the hallway ceiling. His arms were filled with several more brightly colored balloons, all filled with Circe knows what.

"The Bloody Barron will hear about this, Peeves," Severus said calmly, taking out his wand he cordoned off the hallway in a sweeping motion for Filch to deal with later and to keep his idiotic peers out. He just knew someone would come bumbling through the hallway and touch the yellowish-green liquid out of curiosity, only to have their skin erupt in painful yellow boils.

He'd make a pretty poor Prefect if he didn't at least try to protect foolish students from themselves.

Peeves blew a raspberry at Severus before he flew off with a whoop of glee, probably to terrorize another part of the castle, but that was someone else's problem now. He still had to find the Headmaster's office.

{Furius Draconis}

"You two go ahead, I gotta ask Pete something," James said, slinging an arm around the shortest of the four, an easy smile on his face.

Remus came to an abrupt halt, snapped to attention, saluted him, and shouted, "Aye, aye, your Head Boyness!" Without waiting for a response from James, he turned on his heel and goose stepped his way down the path, making more than a few people laugh at his antics.

"Oi!" Sirius exclaimed as he ran after the werewolf. "We discussed this! I was gonna do that!"

The other two Marauders shared a look before cracking up. It wasn't often that Remus acted out as the obnoxious one. He had to beat Sirius to it, after all.

"What'd you want to ask, James?" Peter asked, relieved to finally be back at Hogwarts.

All of the joyfulness drained from him and his grip tightened on Peter's shoulder. "Pete, I want you to stay away from Snape as much as possible this year," James said with a seriousness that was rarely heard in his voice. He saw the way Lily looked at Snape, and something had to happen between the two of them over the summer for her to look that frightened. Lily was the bravest person he knew, it had to have been bad for her to freeze up the way she had.

"Why?" Peter asked, confused by the shift in his best friend's demeanor. "He's hardly ever been able to get the drop on us before."

James clenched his jaw, "Something's… different about him this year." He swept his gaze around them. He and his friends and been among the last few students to leave Hogsmeade Station since James had wanted to do a final sweep of the train, just to be sure everyone had gotten off.

Despite this, there was still a good number of students walking around him and Peter, all making their way towards the castle but hardly any within earshot. However, something stopped him from voicing his suspicions aloud. If he kept them to himself, they'd be less likely to come true, right?

"Just promise me, Pete, that you'll steer clear of him if you aren't with someone else. Promise me Pete."

Peter was looking up at him in concern now, "I don't understand – what's changed, James? What happened?"

James sighed and dragged a hand down his face, "I don't know," he admitted quietly. "I don't know what happened, but something obviously has, and I don't want you anywhere near him. So please, promise me Pete that you'll avoid him."

"Al-alright, James, I promise," Peter said, now even more confused. James was never this solemn. Before he could even question his friend further, the Head Boy broke into a huge grin and swept him into a hug; it looked like a huge weight had just been lifted from his shoulders.

Together they walked into the Entrance Hall and James asked, "By the way, how's your mum holding up? Anything I can do to help?"

Ice jolted through Peter's veins. "I don't think anything can help her."

The smile slid off of James's face. "Pete, why didn't you write? You know that you're more than welcome to use my Family Healer, right? What's she sick with?"

"I, I know that, James, and, and I appreciate it… but I don't think a Healer is what she needs," he mumbled, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. The other half of their quartet caught sight of them, and called them over. Peter dashed off before James was able to question him further.

{Furius Draconis}

Severus eventually found the Corridor, on the fifth floor, it's position betrayed by a perpetually drunk portrait of a man with his equally drunk donkey and a certain door that spewed vulgarity at anyone who made to open it without first complementing it.

He could only shake his head at the oddities that Hogwarts held.

He made his way down the Corridor, towards the largest gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's Tower. It was capable of speech like most of the other gargoyles in Hogwarts, but unlike them, it was not an incessant chatterbox.

Severus came to a stop in front of it and with a slightly distasteful look, he gave the password: "Exploding Bonbons." The gargoyle stepped to the side, revealing the circular moving staircase that would take him up to the door of the Headmaster's office.

He knocked on the wooden door, a cheerful "Enter!" had him pushing the door open. It had been a while since he had been in here – the last time being Fourth Year when he may or may not have transfigured Black's head into a screaming teapot and each of Potter's arms into a ball and chain in retaliation to them launching him into the middle of the Great Lake.

He immediately took note of a man sitting in front of the Headmaster's desk – one with shockingly white hair despite his youthful face – and said, "My apologies, Headmaster, should I come back at another time…?"

"No, my dear boy, not at all," Albus said, smiling. "Please, come sit. Would you like coffee? Tea? Or perhaps some Gillywater?"

"Ah, no. Thank you, Headmaster," Severus said, mildly confused as he sunk into a plush armchair, trying to maintain a stiff posture, but he was fighting a losing battle.

"Very well – I'm sure you're wondering why I summoned you this early in the semester?" A nod from Severus prompted Albus to continue. "Potioneer Zeus Derby here stopped by to see how you were, as you never replied to his offer from earlier this summer."

Severus blinked, his grip on the arm of the chair tightened imperceptibly; he hadn't been expecting this. He couldn't very well tell them why he had yet to reply, not if he wished to finish his last year of schooling.

This way and that, he let his mind dart, testing alternatives, running through every one, until he settled on a viable excuse.*

"My father… died around the time I received the letter – you have my deepest apologies for not-"

"Nonsense boy!" Zeus interrupted him, his eyes wide in concern. "You need not apologize! I should be apologizing, for the poor timing of my letter! Circe, are you alright, lad? Holding up okay?"

Severus blinked again, unaccustomed to such attention, before giving a curt nod. "I am, thank you." Tobias's death had been no great loss, the drunk bastard that he had been. On the other hand, Severus was still unsure what to make of how he passed.

"You have my sincerest condolences, Severus," the Headmaster said, sorrow stretching across his wizened face. Severus merely dipped his head in acquiesce.

Before the silence could grow much heavier with awkwardness, Severus spoke, "I assume by your presence here, you still wish me to apprentice with you?"

Zeus nodded vigorously, "Oh yes! That is, if you feel up to it – losing a parent is… unbalancing to say the least. I would understand completely if you didn't wish to take this up."

"Mr. Derby, it would be an honor to work with you," Severus said sincerely. He added, "And keeping busy… helps."

"Splendid, absolutely splendid!" Zeus exclaimed, clapping his hands together and grinning widely. "I must say Severus – may I call you that? Or would you prefer Mr. Snape?"

"Severus is fine," the teen allowed.

"Wonderful! But I must say, Severus, that I have been positively itching to meet you since I saw your Potions O.W.L. score – a perfect score! Helga's thumb! I don't think that's been accomplished in – what would you say, Albus? One hundred years?"

"Longer, I think," the Headmaster said, smiling widely. "Young Severus is quite the credit to Hogwarts."

Severus shifted uncomfortably. He was decidedly not good at receiving praise, especially if it was coming from two jolly people. "I thank you," he said simply, dipping his head again. "If I may, how will this apprenticeship work while I am still a student here?"

Zeus waved him off, "We can discuss the particulars later, dear Severus, I have accomplished what I set out to do and I believe that the both of you have a Feast that you need to get to…?"

"Ah! You are correct!" Albus exclaimed, looking at the time from a pocket watch he pulled from one of the many folds of his robes. His bushy eyebrows shot up his forehead and he stood from his desk and swept around it, "Zeus, as always, it has been a pleasure. I would stay to give you a proper farewell, but young Severus and I are in dreadful danger of being late to the Great Feast! Come along, Mr. Snape, I know a shortcut or two that will spare us – and by us, I mean me – the worst of Professor McGonagall's ire."

"Of course, of course," Zeus said, smiling openly, eyes twinkling in mirth. Even Severus couldn't help the small twitch of his lips at the Headmaster's words as he stood to follow the mildly frenzied man – images of the Head of Gryffindor shouting at the Headmaster in the middle of the Great Hall came unbidden to his mind.

"An honor, Mr. Derby," Severus offered as he passed the Potioneer, shaking his hand as he went.

"The honor is all mine, I assure you," Zeus said, smiling still. He called after the student as he neared the door, "I shall owl you with a proposed schedule in the following week!"

Severus nodded and swept from office, hot on the Headmaster's heels.


Edited by Chrysanthemum247!